Wealth gap

Here’s a big myth that corporations have marketed:

“We need the 1% to spur on the economy.”

That’s just not factual.

Our economy grows faster when all paychecks are rising. Is it surprising that the decline of unions and organized workers since the 1970s correlates “with an increased concentration of wealth at the top of the economic ladder and ever-rising income inequality?” (Illinois Issues, April 2015) The American dream isn’t dead. It’s just been held down for a while under the feet of the corporate titans. To those who claim that workers’ rights are firmly written into law, we say the facts are overwhelming that the middle class is stuck and it’s clear that we have more work to do:

• In all 50 states, the percentage of middle-class households shrunk between 2000 and 2013. (Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline)